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Men protest 'anti-Muslim' Black Friday promotion at Turkish shop

Three men have provoked a social media stir in Turkey after abusing a shop worker because her store was running a Black Friday promotion, which they claimed was insulting to Muslims.

Two of the men strode up to the counter and addressed themselves to a female sales assistant while the third filmed the encounter on a mobile phone. The men addressed a woman working behind the counter demanding to know if she was a Muslim before venting their anger at the choice of name.

“You cannot call the Muslim holy day ‘Black’,” one man shouts, later asking: “Why do you not organise ‘Black Sunday’ campaigns?”

“It’s immoral, it’s impertinent,” he continues, adding: “You cannot sell snails in a Muslim neighbourhood.” The expression, popular among conservatives, refers to following Christian traditions.

Keeping her calm, the woman demands they leave and threatens to call the police, filming them on her own phone. Even after security arrives, the men refuse to leave the shop, continuing their argument.

The incident was picked up on the popular Show TV channel.

Turkish politicians joined the debate, with a member of the ruling AK Party and adviser to president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asking on Twitter: “What is this Black Friday? Why Friday? Friday is enlightenment, abundance, peace, the best day the sun shines on. What manipulation is this, organised on this special day?”

Black Friday is a term that gained popularity in the 1980s to refer to the day following the Thanksgiving holiday in the US when consumers traditionally began their Christmas shopping. The origin of the term is unclear although it likely refers to the impact of so many workers taking the day off.